1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a water pipe accessory, and more particularly, to a tool for starting and cleaning a water pipe, such as a hookah or shisha pipe.
2. Description of the Background Art
Hookah water pipes, also known as shisha water pipes because of the tobacco typically used, and restaurants providing hookahs are well known worldwide. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a hookah 1 is a water pipe having a tobacco reservoir/bowl 3, such as for shisha or other soaked tobacco, in fluid/pneumatic communication with a tobacco smoke feed tube 4 that depends into a smoke chamber 5, which is partially filled with water, and one or more hoses 2 releasably attached to the water pipe 1 in fluid/pneumatic communication with the smoke chamber 5 for drawing air/oxygen and resulting smoke from the tobacco through one or more hoses. Perforated foil is typically placed over the tobacco product and bowl for holding independently heated charcoal used to reduce harshness and accelerate ignition of the tobacco. Notwithstanding, starting the hookah 1 so it ignites and remains ignited can be very difficult and time consuming. The difficulty arises because shisha comprises tobacco(s) that are flavored with moist additives, such as molasses, making it difficult to properly and efficiently ignite the tobacco and start the hookah. This problem is exasperated by the build-up of residue in the hoses, which also causes odors. Accordingly, restaurants, cafes and the like providing hookahs typically ignite the tobacco for patrons and must clean the hookah and hoses. Unfortunately, they confront the same obstacles, which adversely affects customer service and hence the success of the restaurant. Conventional hookahs also present health problems associated with inhaling particulate matter/debris and restaurant employees placing their mouth on the hose to ignite the hookah tobacco. If there existed a water pipe accessory that could start and ignite the hookah 1 as well as clean its hoses 2 it would eliminate problems associated with starting and cleaning a hookah and save servers valuable time while making the patron's visit to the hookah restaurant more enjoyable. However, there are no known devices that can provide the dual functions of starting a hookah or other water pipe and cleaning hoses. If such a device existed it would be well received.
Although various pipes and smoking accessories are shown in the background art, they fail to disclose a device or system that adequately addresses or resolves the above-noted gaps in the prior art. The background art known fails to disclose a hookah or water pipe accessory that can start the pipe and clean its hoses to facilitate an easier draw, increase sanitary conditions and reduce or eliminate odors. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 1,531,147, issued to Zahariadis, discloses a water pipe. U.S. Pat. No. 3,363,633, issued to Weber, discloses a battery-operated blower for keeping a non-water pipe lit. U.S. Pat. No. 3,889,690, issued to Guarnieri, discloses a water pipe having a flame igniter or electrical resistance element. U.S. Pat. No. 4,164,230, issued to Pearlman, discloses an automatic non-water smoking pipe including a fan. U.S. Pat. No. 4,190,034, issued to Wonisch, discloses a hand-held apparatus for starting and fanning a fire, such as in a fire place, by providing a source of fuel and air. U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,411, issued to Faris, discloses a power-operated non-water pipe comprising a removable cup for holding tobacco, a fan and an air chamber for drawing air from the bowl with the fan, disclose a perforator designed for use with only one cigar or cigarette. U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,410, issued to Seroussi, discloses a nargile water pipe for smoking cured tobaccos. U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,017, issued to Levin, discloses a hand-held air blower with a rechargeable power supply that may be used for supplying air to a fire in a grill or fireplace. U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,173, issued to Thomson, discloses a portable air blower with an elongated hollow extension sleeve to guide forced air directly onto fire. U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,756, issued to Mielordt, discloses a device for smoking tobacco or other products. U.S. Pat. No. 6,284,056, issued to Billard, discloses a composition useful for removal of organic deposits from a ceramic, glass, plastic or metal substrate.
Based on the foregoing, the prior art discloses various pipes and devices but fails to disclose an accessory that can be used with any hookah or other comparable water pipe to properly ignite the tobacco in the water pipe, clean the pipe's hose(s) and, or heat charcoal. Accordingly, there exists a need for such an accessory. The instant invention addresses this unfulfilled need in the prior art by providing a water pipe starter and cleaning accessory as contemplated by the instant invention disclosed herein.